US3763735A

US3763735A - Stringed musical instrument having tone-varying means

Info

Publication number: US3763735A
Application number: US00315121A
Authority: US
Inventors: Land R Lee
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-12-14
Filing date: 1972-12-14
Publication date: 1973-10-09
Anticipated expiration: 1990-10-09

Abstract

A stringed musical instrument having keyboard-actuated hammers for striking strings. Means are carried by the instrument for varying the tone of the strings.

Description

'ilnited States Patent [191 Land [ STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT HAVKNG TONE-VARYING MEANS [75] Inventor: Robert Lee Land, Daytona Beach,

Fla.

[73] Assignee: Horace Smith, Daytona Beach,

Fla., a part interest [22] Filed: Dec. 14, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 315,121

[52] 111.5. (11. 84/200, 84/312 [51] lint. CI. G10c 3/10 [58] Field of Search 84/173, 174, 200,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,483,617 10/1949 Bradley 84/312 2,949,806 8/1960 Turman 84/312 Primary Examiner-Richard B. Wilkinson Assistant Examiner-Lawrence R. Franklin Attorney-William M. Hobby et al.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A stringed musical instrument having keyboard actuated hammers for striking strings. Means are carried by the instrument for varying the tone of the strings.

8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT HAVING TONE-VARYING MEANS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to musical instruments, and in particular relates to stringed musical instruments having means associated therewith for varying the tone of at least one of the strings.

2. Description of the Prior Art I-Iarps, pianos and guitars are examples of a variety of musical instruments in which the musical sound is produced by plucking or striking one or more tensioned strings. On occasion, one or more strings of some instruments, such as a guitar or a banjo, are manually tuned by the player during play. Generally, however, the strings of most stringed instruments are tuned prior to play, and the tension is left unchanged during any given number.

In the prior art there is a variety of console-type steel guitars which includes foot pedals for varying the tension on one or more strings to achieve a glissando effect. For example, see U. S. Pat. No. 2,467,086 to Hise et al.; U. S. Pat. No. 3,610,536 to Cousineau; U. S. Pat. No. 2,889,732 to Juick; and U. S. Pat. No. 2,973,682 to Fender. Similar arrangements have also been suggested for guitars; in this regard see U. S. Pat. No. 2,949,086 to Turman. Aside from the dampening ped als normally employed in pianos, it has also been suggested in the prior art to utilize foot actuated pedals to actuate a second set of strings in the piano; see U. S. Pat. No. 3,103,848 to Nassar.

It is also desirable to employ means which would allow a similar glissando effect to be achieved in other types of stringed instruments, such as pianos, for example.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a musical instrument having an instrument frame member with strings tensioned between two portions of the instrument. A keyboard is carried by the instrument, and is associated with a plurality of hammers likewise carried by the instrument, each hammer being activated by a corresponding key on the keyboard and thereby adapted to strike a corresponding string. The present invention further includes means carried by the member for tuning at least one of the strings.

THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side elevation of a piano employing the tone varying means of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the tone varying means illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a piano employing tone varying means in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION A detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1-3 and described with reference thereto.

Noting FIG. I, a piano includes an upright piano case 12 having a front panel 14 and an opposing rear panel 16. The piano 10 further comprises a keyboard 18 and a plurality of hammers 20, one of which is shown in cross-section in FIG. 1. Each hammer 20 is coupled to a corresponding key on the keyboard 18, such that when the corresponding key is depressed, the hammer 20 is activated to strike one or more corresponding piano strings 40, which are described in detail below. The manner in which the keys on the keyboard are coupled to the hammers 20 is well known and are therefore simply illustrated by a broken line 22 in FIG. 1.

With reference to FIGS. 11 and 2, and in accordance with the present invention, the piano 10 further includes means for tuning one or more of the piano strings. In this embodiment, this means comprises a frame member 24 disposed within the piano case 112 and having a bar 26 mounted across the frame and braced thereto. Preferably, the frame 24 is fabricated from steel, or another high tensile strength metal. While the dimensions of the frame 24 are not critical, it is preferable to construct the frame such that it rests in the lower portion of the piano case 12.

The frame 24 includes front and

rear walls

28, 30 re spectively, and opposing side walls 32, 34 at the ends thereof. Preferably, the bar 26 is juxtaposed so as to be proximal to the rear wall 30.

A plurality of metallic rings 36 are fitted around the bar 26, each ring 36 including three extensions therefrom (note FIG. 1). A first one of the extensions on each ring 36 serves as a string tip 38, each string tip having one end of the piano string 40 attached thereto. The other end of each string 40 is joined to the instrument case 12, such that each string is tensioned between two portions of the inside of the case 12, including the string tip 38.

The tone-varying means of the present invention further comprises a foot-actuated pedal 42 mounted on the outer face 44 of the front wall 28 of the frame 24, as by bolts (shown but not numbered in FIG. 1). The pedal 42 is pivotably mounted by a pivot pin 45. The front panel 14 of the case 12 has a large opening 46 therein through which the pedal 42 extends. A plurality of adjustable rods 48'are each pivotably joined along a corresponding pedal 42 at a leverage point by a second pin 50. Each rod 48 extends through

corresponding apertures

50, 52, respectively, in the front panel 14 of the case 12 and the front wall 28 of the frame member 24. The length of the rod 48 is varied by employing a turnbuckle 54 interposed along the rod and exterior to the case 12.

A second one of the extensions of each ring 36 comprises a cable tip 56. Noting FIG. 2, each cable 58 is attached to pre-selected ones of the cable tips 58 at the other end to a corresponding one of the rods 48. By way of example, two cables 58 may be attached to the cable tips 56 of rings 36 which are associated with two different notes in the same octave; similarly, only one cable may be employed with the ring corresponding to a single note in each octave.

The frame member 24 further comprises a cable guide 60 having guide slots 62 which receive cables 58 corresponding to an adjacent ring 36. Preferably, the frame member 24 also includes a number of intermediate braces 64, one of which is shown in FIG. 2, in order to provide structural support.

Referring again to FIG. II, the third extension of each ring 36 comprises a ring stop member 66 which is adapted to engage the proximal portion of the back wall 30 of the frame 24, and thereby restrict the clockwise rotation (as viewed endwise in FIG. 1) of the ring 36.

The tone-varying apparatus incorporated in frame member 24 operates in the following manner.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, it is preferable to employ tone-varying means only on the higher notes, and thus only with respect to the strings associated with the higher, right-hand end of the keyboard 18. Therefore, the pedals- 42 are primarily operated by the right foot of the player.

Prior to play, one or more strings are adapted for inplay tuning by loosening the turnbuckles 54 and placing the ends of the cable 58 into the pre-selected cable tips 56. The turnbuckles 54 are then adjusted to the desired tension. During play, when a key associated with one of the pre-selected strings 40 is struck, the corresponding pedal 42 is depressed, causing the rod 48 to draw the cable 58 downward and thereby rotating the ring 36 to which that cable is attached. This further causes the string tip 38 to be rotated, thus tightening, i. e., tuning, the string 40 attached thereto. This achieves a highly unusual glissando effect from the vibrating string.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art of manufacturing musical instruments that a number of modifications and alterations may be made with respect to the embodiment illustrated and described above, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A musical instrument comprising:

an instrument member;

strings tensioned between two portions of said instrument;

a keyboard carried by said instrument;

a plurality of hammers carried by said instrument, each hammer activated by a corresponding key on said key-board and adapted to strike a corresponding one of said strings;

at least one pedal carried by said member and adapted to be foot operated and means associated with said pedal for changing the tension of at least one of said strings.

2. A musical instrument as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

a frame;

a bar mounted across and braced by said frame;

at least one annular member fitted around said bar with one end of said one string affixed thereto; and wherein said tensionchanging means comprises means for rotating said annular member with respect to said frame.

3. A musical instrument as recited in claim 2 further comprising:

a string tip extending away from the periphery of said annular member and having one end of said string attached thereto;

a cable tip extending away from the periphery of said annular member; and

a cable attached to said cable tip and adapted to be pulled by said pedal to effect rotation of said annular member about said bar.

4. A musical instrument as recited in claim 3 further comprising:

said frame including a portion extending proximal to said annular member;

a stop member extending away from said annular member and adapted to engage said proximal portion of said frame so as to maintain the original position of said annular member during periods between rotation by said pedal.

5. A musical instrument as recited in claim 3 wherein said pedal is pivotably mounted along an outer wall of said frame, said instrument further comprising:

a rod attached at one end to said pedal and coupled at the other end to said cable; and

means for varying the length of said rod.

6. A musical instrument as recited in claim 5 further comprising:

a cable guide mounted in said frame and spaced from and substantially parallel to said rod, said guide having at least one aperture therethrough opposing said one annular member; and wherein said cable extends between said cable tip and said rod and through said aperture.

7. A musical instrument as recited in claim 6 wherein said instrument comprises a plurality of said annular members fitted around said bar, each having a corresponding string affixed thereto;

said guide having a plurality of apertures each corresponding to one of said annular members; and

a cable attached to at least two of said annular members and coupled to said pedal.

8. A musical instrument as recited in claim 7 further comprising a plurality of braces extending between opposing walls within said frame and substantially perpendicular to, and supporting said bar.

Claims

1. A musical instrument comprising: an instrument member; strings tensioned between two portions of said instrument; a keyboard carried by said instrument; a plurality of hammers carried by said instrument, each hammer activated by a corresponding key on said key-board and adapted to strike a corresponding one of said strings; at least one pedal carried by said member and adapted to be foot operated and means associated with said pedal for changing the tension of at least one of said strings.

2. A musical instrument as recited in claim 1 further comprising: a frame; a bar mounted across and braced by said frame; at least one annular member fitted around said bar with one end of said one string affixed thereto; and wherein said tension-changing means comprises means for rotating said annular member with respect to said frame.

3. A musical instrument as recited in claim 2 further comprising: a string tip extending away from the periphery of said annular member and having one end of said string attached thereto; a cable tip extending away from the periphery of said annular member; and a cable attached to said cable tip and adapted to be pulled by said pedal to effect rotation of said annular member about said bar.

4. A musical instrument as recited in claim 3 further comprising: said frame including a portion extending proximal to said annular member; a stop member extending away from said annular member and adapted to engage said proximal portion of said frame so as to maintain the original position of said annular member during periods between rotation by said pedal.

5. A musical instrument as recited in claim 3 wherein said pedal is pivotably mounted along an outer wall of said frame, said instrument further comprising: a rod attached at one end to said pedal and coupled at the other end to said cable; and means for varying the length of said rod.

6. A musical instrument as recited in claim 5 further comprising: a cable guide mounted in said frame and spaced from and substantially parallel to said rod, said guide having at least one aperture therethrough opposing said one annular member; and wherein said cable extends between said cable tip and said rod and through said aperture.

7. A musical instrument as recited in claim 6 wherein said instrument comprises a plurality of said annular members fitted around said bar, each having a corresponding string affixed thereto; said guide having a plurality of apertures each corresponding to one of said annular members; and a cable attached to at least two of said annular members and coupled to said pedal.